My DDR adventure
by SYSS Mouse
Summary: This is a story based on my DDR experience. This story uses actual places so you will have an idea of my hometown and places.
1. Prologue

MyDDRPro1

This is my maiden work so please apologize about my lame writing skill.

My DDR adventure

Prologue

_Dance Dance Revolution? What the hell is that? A dancing game. I wonder who will play this stupid game. And dance with scrolling arrows o the monitor? What kind of script is this._

_Let's see. Arrows show up and when it reaches to the top you step on the panel below your feet. Never heard about this on a game._

It was during summer vacation of 1999 when I was surfing the Internet. At this time, DDR scene was like crazy in Asian countries while most people in North America knew nothing about it. I must admit that even I will laugh at those who is brave enough to get on the stage. Dance and arcade simply does not mix.

_'Dinner time.' Mom said._

_'Coming.'_


	2. The start

Chapter 1:

Chapter 1: The start

As the world marched into the new millennium, so as my adventure.

_It has been a long time since my last time to Playdium, let's see what new games they get._

So that's why I was in Playdium this day, the second of millennium - January 2, 2000, when I saw the DDR machine for the first time.

Just the day before, my friend Howard called me.

"Kenny, what's up. Going to Playdium tomorrow?" Howard said.  
"Maybe. What's going on?" I said.  
"You know what? Playdium got a DDR machine."  
"Sorry?"  
"DDR, that dance game you told me."  
"Is it?"  
"Yes, it is. I'm going to try it out."  
"I think I may be going."  
"Come on. Show me your dance style."  
"What? Did I say I am not going?" I said, getting mad at this little kid. Did this guy tried DDR?  
"Just come."

As I arrived Playdium, Howard was there already.

"Kenny, you are late again." Howard said.  
"Again? It is you who is always late." I gave him a punch as I said.  
"Whatever it calls. Let's get inside and have a look of DDR. It is cold here."

As I added some money to the Playdium charge card at the reception, Howard is nowhere to be seen.

"What makes you so excited?" I mumbled to myself as I asked the receptionist to add money to my Playdium card.

It seemed that he was in the arcade already, so I decided to enter the arcade also.

Playdium was the largest arcade in the city of Mississauga where I was living (actually there are less than 5 arcades in my city). Other than the main floor where all arcades machines sit it also has a deck (second floor) which has a pub. One can see the whole arcade above the deck.  
I got to the deck and tried to find Howard but failed. It looks like Howard is inside the forests of arcade machines. I decided to wander by myself.

As I was finding Howard, a spotlight had my interest. The source of the spotlight can be clearly seen from the deck. It was from an arcade machine with a strange appearance. It had two giant speakers at the base of the machine. A platform was in front of it with two hand bars, so it looks like this game is for two players. Just above the screen there was a lightbox with spotlights around it. It says _Dance Dance Revolution_.

I spotted Howard approaching that DDR machine, so I decided to see what he was going to do. He stopped in front of the machine and looked around, as if someone was following him. After confirming there was no one that he knows was around he stepped on the stage. Since I was behind him and I was far away from him, I did not see what he did on the machine, but after a while, he started dancing.

I knew that he is not really good in dancing, so I was very curious how he danced. Afterall, Howard is a fat guy.  
I decided to get close to him.

I stopped several meters behind the stage and watched Howard dancing. The beat of Butterfly came into my ears. After several songs he stepped off stage and noticed I was watching him.

"There you are. Show me your MOVES, Kenny." Howard said.  
"No, please don't."  
"Why not?"  
"I am not comfortable with that." "C'mon my friend."  
"I just don't want.. HEY! Don't push me on the stage!" I screamed.

That was my first time on the DDR stage, so I chose Have You Never Been Mellow as my very first song. Yet, I failed it.

"Is it your REAL dance? I think you can do it better." Howard laughed at me, mincing the voice in the DDR machine. _Whatever you say, dumbass!_

"Hey! Don't be so rude to a beginner!" A voice came from behind.

A girl and a guy approached us. The girl was in the age of me, like 18 or 19. She was wearing a red shirt striped with yellow and a blue vest on top of it, along with baggy jeans and yellow-brown shoes. I can tell she is a mix of Asian and North America from her appearance. The boy is about the same age of the girl. He was wearing a vest similar to the girl except it is red and inside of it is a black shirt. His camouflage green pants and spiky brown hair gave a feeling of emote.

"I am Emi and here is my boyfriend. Everyone calls him Rage. We are new to DDR, so nice to meet ya." She said.  
"Ah, new **DDRer**." The boy said. I thought he was Rage.  
"Hum?"  
"DDRer, people who play DDR."  
"I see."  
"What school do you go to?" Emi asked.  
"Father Michael Goetz S.S."  
"St. Francis Xavier." Rages said. "I'm in the mood now. Emi, wanna dance with me?"  
"Sure."

The couple stepped on the stage and selected AM-3P and started grooving.  
"They surely can dance." Howard said lightly.  
"Let's see." replied.

Their second song is Butterfly.

_"I've been searching for a man, all across Japan.  
Just to find, to find my samurai.  
Someone who is strong, but still a little shy.  
Yes, I need, I need my samurai." _The machine blasted.  
They seemed to like this song by Smile.dk.

After their third song I went to the stage and talked to them.  
"Did you know how to dance before you know DDR?" I asked.  
"Only some, not much. I just practiced often and getting the hang into it. And you know what." Rage said. "There are more and more people playing this game. Hope it will gin the popularity in Asia."  
"Do you think it will?" Howard asked.  
"Time will prove anything."  
"I hope it will. Then I can dance like hell!" Emi said.  
"I will be hanging around now and so. If you have time, come and find me." Rage said.

We did some more dances before we ran out of money. After this, we chatted for sometime before we went home.


	3. Unfold

__

"Wake up. Time to dance." A voice came from nowhere.  
"Who is it?"  
"Don't you remember me? Rage, the guy you saw yesterday. Emi is here too."  
"I must be drunk."  
The image of Rage appeared in front of me.  
"You are not drunk, you are now inside the DDR machine. Now select a song, and here we go."  
Discs appeared in front of me, guess I have no choice but pick a song.

"I am going to pick Butterfly."  
"This is a song for the real dancer." Emi said.  
A gauge appeared above me and arrows started rising from the ground.  
"Now dance." Rage said, with his energetic voice.

It looked like I have to dance now. I had no idea how to dance Butterfly but I have to give it a try. But for some unknown reasons, I think I am doing well because after I finished the song, Rage said. "You are doing good and finished with an A grade, with 102 Perfects, 32 Greats, 3 Goods, 1 Poor and 3 Misses. Maximum 63 combos."

"OK. See you in your next dance." Emi said.

At this moment, I woke up. 9am in the morning.

"Morning Kenny." My sister Carmen said this to me as I walked down the stairs.  
"Morning."  
"You did not sleep well, did you?"  
"How do you know, I just got a nightmare."  
"DDR hangover? Haha." My sister laughed.  
"Shut up. I am not playing this game again."  
"You are. I will bet 10 bucks if you are not going to mention DDR for a week."  
"I will win your ten bucks."

I did not mention DDR for the week so I won her ten dollars. However, after a month, I saw Rage again, but Emi was not here. This time it was at the central bus stop next to Playdium when I was going home after school.

"Hey Kenny. What's up." Rage said.  
"Nothing much, just a lot of school work."  
"Still DDR?"  
"No, no. Not recently. Too busy to play."  
"Gotcha. I'm waiting for Emi and her friends and then DDR."  
"That's good." I said. "And you know what? I had a dream about us and DDR a month ago. We are both in the DDR machine and we are dancing."  
"That's a good one. I had a similar dream before except you were not there. Look, Emi is coming."

Not far away Emi was getting off the bus. She was wearing jeans and a jacket this time.

"Hi guys, and you are here. I haven't seen you for a while." Emi said. "Coming for DDR?"  
"Nope, going home." I replied.  
"Then see you later."

As I see their shadow disappearing into Playdium, I had a feeling that Rage and Emi really looked like a couple. Then the bus came.

As soon as I entered my house, the phone rang.

"Kenny, it is Howard. What's going on?" It was Howard.  
"What do you want?"  
"Do you want to come to my house? I just bought DDR for Playstation and a dancepad."  
"Damn it. How many time I had told you that I am **NOT** interested in DDR or other Bemani games?" I answered angrily.  
"So you are not going to come? Fine." He hanged up.


	4. Cyber Encounter

chapter3

While Howard is getting addicted to DDR, I was acting as a bystander to the DDR scene - maybe for a while. The DDR scene was still going strong in Asia but North America was left behind. There are more curious people who will ask what DDR is, though.

One day in April, someone sent me a Hong Kong IRC chat site from the internet and there was a DDR channel in it. I decided to take a look inside. After I entered the room I was immediately greeted by someone. 

"Hey, you, SYSS Mouse, are you from Sing Yin Secondary School?" A guy with the nickname SkyEric asked me. I was using SYSS Mouse as my cyber nickname.  
"I am. Do I know you, and how do you know me?" I typed.  
"I am Eric. The name SYSS reminds me about that school. I used to be in that school." Eric replied.

__

What? I was in that school before coming to Canada.

"And may I ask your last name?" SkyEric asked.  
I replied. His response is: "It is you! Kenny! I am Eric [the] Dog. I was in your class."

__

Oh dear. Cyber encounter. I only heard about this on comedy shows, and I never dreamed it to happen on me. Worse, it is a DDRer encounter.

"Hello? Are you too shocked to answer me?"  
"No, not at all."  
"So, Kenny, do you play DDR?" he asked.  
"Not quite. Once or twice."  
"Then why are you here?"  
"Just pass by."  
"You're right. Who will come to this place by chance? By the way, I heard that you are coming back to Hong Kong this summer. Isn't it?"  
"It is. So what?"  
"I'm gonna see your DDR skill."  
"Screw that. I'm only at basic level."  
"Maybe you are too shy to play. I have been playing DDR since it was introduced to Hong Kong in December 1998 and now, I am playing the hardest songs in maniac level and, sigh, have spent hundreds of dollars in it." Eric typed. "Anyway, see you in Hong Kong."  
"Showing off, eh?"  
"You may say so."

"So you are addicted to DDR, Kenny." Carmen spoke to me at this time. "I've been watching you since the conversation. Congratulations, you've found an old classmate."  
"You scared me."  
"Oh. I'm _so_ sorry. I have absolutely no interest on you guys." My sister always talks like that.

Carmen left the computer screen and I was just in time to respond to Eric's message.  
"Ha. It was those days when I actually won a DDR tournament. But do you actually know what happened in Hong Kong about DDR?"  
"I must admit that I don't really know what happened."  
"Let me tell you on ICQ. My number is 2165_****_."  



	5. Evolution of Revolution

chapter4

"So this is the evolution of the Revolution." Eric typed on ICQ.  
"It is surely a revolution on gaming industry. The gameplay of DDR is so unique."  
"I agree. Before I begin, let me ask you a question. Do you know _BeatMania_?"  
"I tried it once."  
"So that's it. Those music games are grouped in a series called _Bemani_."

__

I knew that BeatMania (BM), along with other music games like DDR, Guitar Freak (GF), DrumMania (DM), KeyboardMania(KM), DanceMania X (DMX) and Pop 'n Music are all published by Konami. Konami named their music games into a group called Bemani. Also included is another dance game Para Para Paradise, which was not released at that time yet.

"I heard about Bemani, so what's going on." I asked.

"Let me tell you, but this takes a while.  
"The music game genre was created when _Parappa the Rapper_ came out, which I forgot when. I guess it was a success [Note: This game is a mega-seller] because I heard that Konami made BeatMania because of the success on this game. BeatMania finally came out in June 1998 and it eventually gained enough popularity when Konami decided to design the next Bemani game. Guess what it is?"  
"Dance Dance Revolution?"  
"That's right. DDR." Eric typed. "Sigh, this game is indeed popular. Konami signed a contract with Toshiba EMI so that Konami can use songs under its license. DDR was released in Japan in November 1998 and arrived in Hong Kong for trial run one month later.  
"There were not many songs in the original DDR. Nine, if my memory is correct.  
"This game became popular among those arcade people, like me. I remembered those days when we literally lived with the machine. We followed DDR wherever it went. Then, Playstation version of DDR came out in April, 1999. To tell the truth, not many people would ever imagine a day when this game would be published on Playstation, and many people wondered how this game can be played on Playstation. DDR would not be DDR if it had to be played by controller because it is not dancing.  
"Konami made a solution -- dancepad. Then the revolution began."  
"So this is how the revolution began?" I said.  
"Well." Eric responded with a "You-should-had-guess-it" attitude. "Konami did some serious promotion. Like, in Hong Kong, Konami had an outdoor party at Times Square in Causeway Bay. There were a lot of people there. Later, the whole city were in the craze of the Revolution."  
"So were there any organization being set up?" I asked.  
"Surely there was. Even when BeatMania came out there was a club called something like i611. However, I don't know much about it since I don't play BeatMania. When DDR came out, another large game club formed, the HK DDR Club. I am a member of this club. But, there were actually _way_ too many people for the club to function efficiently, and as a result, internal disagreement caused the club to break apart. Maybe as a freelancer, not belonging to any club, is more suitable for me."  
"Oh, I heard the DDR Club before, but I don't know that you are in that club."  
"If I were you, I would not let my classmates know." Eric remarked. "Although most people know how to play DDR, only a few a the true maniacs like me. It made me feel like a Martian if they ever knew that I am a master of DDR. Ha, to speak of Martian, we had a group of DDR vocabulary that only we would understand and ironically, they are called Martian."  
"Like 'yellow feet' (Basic difficulty)?" I said.  
"Not those. It is too generalized."  
"Then never mind."  
"Any DDR organizations in North America?" Eric asked.  
"I don't know as I am new to DDR. But it is possible to have some because I know that places like California is plagued with import arcade machines." I replied.  
"Maybe I should come to Toronto and see the DDR scene." Eric said. _Please don't_.

"There are other Bemani clubs, like HK D(rum)M(ania) Club, KeyboardMania Club, etc. It is getting late for me, talk to you later, Kenny Mouse." Eric said.  
"See ya, and don't call me Mouse, Eric Dog."


	6. Broken Leg, Broken Heart

chap5 

Next day, when I arrived school, I saw Howard in bandage on his leg, and walking with a stick. What happened to him?

"What happened to you?" I asked.  
"Nothing. Got injured." Howard replied, somewhat uncomfortable.  
"Did you get hurt, when…" I got close to him and whispered. "…playing DDR?"

Howard was surprised with my words and in a sudden, he swung his stick and tried to hit me. I dodged the attack and stood clear of him.

"You know that I have the DDR dancepad at home. But I swear, I DID NOT hurt myself when playing DDR."

Class started and when the teacher asked Howard how did he got hurt, Howard said he got hurt when playing basketball. I suspected that he is lying, so when classes ended, I dragged him to a plaza next to our school and questioned him.

"What do you want, Kenny?" Howard asked me, and tried to run sway. However, since he had to walk with a stick, he could not run fast.  
"You are not going anywhere." I said.  
"Just let me go! My DDR career is _over_!" Howard screamed.

I let his hands loose and said. "What happened?"  
"I am not lying, I actually got hurt when playing basketball."  
"I thought you broke your leg when playing songs like PARANOiA." I said. _PARANOiA_ is one of the toughest songs in DDR.  
"I can't pass that song, and look at you, you can't even pass Butterfly."

Without notice, Howard swung his stick on me again. This time, I cannot dodge it and was hit on my arm.

"Ouch! Why did you hit me?" I asked.  
"Because you laughed at me!" Howard yelled and tried to hit me again.  
I tried to stay clear from him, and for that moment, I am safe from his attack. "Now tell me, why did you get hurt? I will not take basketball as the answer." I demanded.  
"How many times have I have to tell you. I got hurt when playing basketball!" Howard exclaimed.  
I paused for a second. "Ok, I believe you. You got hurt when playing basketball and not DDR."

At this time Emi sneaked upon us and hugged me. "Who got hurt while playing DDR?"  
"Don't do that on me. I have a girlfriend and Rage will kill me." I lied. I did not have a girlfriend.  
A burst of laughter came out from the alley. "Ha, you are taking things too serious, Kenny." Rage said while walking out from the alley.  
"Damn it! You heard everything from us!" I exclaimed.  
"Not all, but most of it. Kenny, if I were you, I will tell the teacher that I hurt myself when playing _basketball_ even the cause of injury is playing DDR." Everyone laughed.  
"Emi, Rage, why are you here." Howard asked.  
"I'm buying something there." Rage said, pointing to the ValueMart store.

"Sigh, you know what. My DDR career is finished." Howard said.  
"Don't say that. You'll recover." Emi said.  
"Yeah. I always get hurt while break-dancing…" Rage told us. "You know, _Matrix Walk_, _back flip_, something like that."  
"We don't know that you break-dance."  
"That was supposed to be a secret."  
"But," Howard said quietly. "My leg injury."  
Emi patted Howard's shoulder. "Don't worry, man. I swear that if Howard does not discover or I'll leave Rage."  
"No, you are not going to leave me, are you?" Rage said this while hugging Emi, and everyone smiled.  
"Maybe I should invite everyone to my house and dance."  
":Yeah, find a date and we all go to your house." I said.

"I'll call you guys when I recover." Howard shouted when he is heading home.


	7. Bemani in Physics

Howard's injury did not take long to recover. After two days he could walk without sticks, but he did not mention the invitation to his house. He probably forgot his promise.  
Class went on and it was late May, and final exam was not far away. While teachers were finishing course material the DDR scene seemed to be quieted down.  
One afternoon I and Howard are having physics class and the teacher was talking about wave vibration on a string. He showed us a string with both ends fixed on a wooden base.  
"This string resembles the strings on a guitar. When I press on the string, the distance which the string can vibrate shortens and the pitch is higher. Well, I used to play guitar a lot, this reminds me about my old days…" the teacher said.  
"He is talking about the time he was young. He really should know how old he is." I whispered to Howard, who is sitting beside me.  
"Sure, he is a freak." Howard said quietly.  
"A freak. _Guitar Freak_." I said.  
I had a feeling that everyone in my class is looking at us. But no one knows what we are talking about.  
"Nothing…." I said.  
"This name sounds familiar." Howard said.  
"Bemani…"  
"I never think of linking Bemani with physics class. Oh yeah, coming to my house to DDR? Go call Rage and Emi." Howard interrupted.   
"You finally remember our deal."  
"Of course I remember, and let's hope I won't actually get hurt by playing DDR. One more thing: don't let others know."  
"Why?" I asked.  
"'Cause I don't want everyone rushing to my house."  
"Well, DDR is not _that_ popular here, _yet_."  
"Anyway, go call Emi." Howard said.

"Is Emi here?" I said when I tried to find Emi.  
"Oh, she is not here. May I ask who you are?" A voice which I am not familiar with answered.  
"Her friends."  
"DDR friends?"  
"How do you know?"  
"He, he. Because I know her well, I'm her sister, Amy, who works in Japan, and I'm also a DDRer." The voice said. "I'm spending a two-week vacation here. Sadly, I can't practice my DDR skill because the only DDR in this city is a 1.5 Mix, while I'm playing 3rd Mix Plus in Japan."  
"So you play a lot of Bemani there?"  
"Yup. DDR, DrumMania, Guitar Freak, Dance Mania X, blah, blah, blah. But I like DDR best."  
"A lot of people prefer DDR in the whole Bemani series."  
"Surely. Oh, Emi is back, I am handing the phone to her, hang on." Amy said.  
"Hey Emi, it is Kenny."  
"Hey, Kenny. What's up?"  
"Howard is inviting you and Rage to his house next Friday. I'm going too." I said. "How about your sister?"  
"Amy? Unfortunately she can't come because she is going back to Japan next Wednesday." Emi said.  
"That's too bad."  
"At least she can practice 3rd Mix Plus in Japan. We can only hop on the 1.5 in Playdium."  
"Did she tell you about Bemani news in Japan?"

"A little bit. Konami is developing a dance game similar to Dance Mania X, which uses infra-red sensors to detect movement. The game is called something like _ParaParaParadise_." Emi said.  
"What is that?"  
"Amy said it is based on a dance style popular in Japan called ParaPara. But I have no clue of what that is."  
"Hum… We will eventually know." I said.  
"We will eventually know what it is. Anyway, I will make a call to Rage. Thanks for inviting me. See you next Friday." Emi said.

__

Mission objective 1 complete. Next thing to do is practice for next Friday.


	8. Mission 0 (Part 1)

That night I saw Eric online so I decided to ask for advice for the mission to come.  
  
His reply was: "Take it easy man. Don't worry too much about DDR. I'll bet they are not the very best in DDR, only like trick level."  
  
So I'm by myself. A lone soldier who did not know when and how death approaches.  
  
In physics class Howard told me that Emi and Rage would go to his house later because of class and he invited me and a guy called Bing for lunch. So, after school, we went to the Viennese restaurant opposite of our school.  
  
After we ordered I asked Howard why he wanted to invite me.  
  
"Simple, to see you dance." He said.  
  
"Then why did you invite Emi and Rage?" I asked.  
  
"To make you addict to DDR."  
  
"How about me." Bing said.  
  
"This is not really DDR-related, you know. Bing, you told me that you wanted to come and watch some VCDs, did you?"  
  
"And make you addict to DDR also. Haha." I interrupted.  
  
"No way for DDR part. I have absolutely no interest in it." Bing said.  
  
Just as we stepped out of the restaurant we saw Rage's car approaching us in the parking lot. His car was a deep green jeep with a loud speaker because we could hear the music of Smile.dk's Boys clearly in a distance. Rage was in the driver's seat and Emi was sitting beside him.  
  
"It is a nice, sunny day today so I drive this thing here." Rage said as he stopped his jeep beside us.  
  
"Get on the car. I'll drive you to Howard's house. You just need to give me directions." Emi said, and noticed Bing. "And who is this guy?"  
  
"My friend." Howard said. "But he does not play DDR."  
  
"No problem. Let's go." Emi said.  
  
".and let's begin the beat. Hehe." Rage said as he switched to another CD in his CD player.  
  
At this time a patrol car stopped beside us.  
  
"Hey, young men. Turn down your volume, and . Naoki's Brilliant2U?" A policeman shouted in his patrol car.  
  
"You know this song?" Rage said and was very surprised. Brilliant2U is a song written specially for DDR and therefore the only reason for him to know this song is from DDR.  
  
"Dance Dance Revolution, right? I sometimes play this game in Playdium when I'm off duty." The policeman said.  
  
"So what do you think about it?" I asked.  
  
"Well, this game is a cool one because it is a brand new gaming concept. This is something, at least, can be called as an alternative to first- person shooter. There are way too many Doom-like games there and I do not want to see another Columbine High School happening."  
  
"I know. This is crazy, killing 15 students, two teachers and end up killing themselves." Emi said.  
  
"That was about one year ago." Rage added.  
  
"I hope this game will become popular enough that it can counter the effects of violent games." The policeman said.  
  
"But when? There are no news about another version in North America or any porting to console systems like Playstation." I said.  
  
"True. DDR became popular in Asia only after its Playstation version was released." Rage said.  
  
"There are at least some people who know DDR. I had been called to Playdium once because of DDR." The policeman said. "There was a person collapsed after playing DDR in Playdium and had to call 911 for ambulance."  
  
"Then what happened?" Howard asked.  
  
"I was called to report there to take documentation, evidence, testimony, or whatever you call, the normal routines and also some crowd control. It was Sunday afternoon and there were a lot of people around the DDR machine."  
  
"We are about to head out to his house for some dancing." Rage said.  
  
"Have fun." The cop said and suddenly there was a beep. "Excuse me. My walkie-talkie  
  
A student was found with a gun in 330 Central Parkway West, Father Michael Goetz Secondary School. Peel Police Unit 6B report there.  
  
"Jesus! I said Columbine High School and it happened. A guy was found with a gun in your school!" He exclaimed.  
  
"Oh shit! You better hurry! And let's go back to school to see what happened." I said.  
  
As the cop car and the jeep entering our school's parking lot, there were a lot of students there and it looked like the situation was still under control. I asked a student what happened.  
  
"Two students went into an argument and one lighted a pistol. It was lucky enough what one student grabbed the gun and called the police." She said.  
  
"I hate to see that." Rage said.  
  
"Yup. Let's get the hell outta here." Howard said.  
  
Howard's house is not very far away from our school. His house does not have anything that caught my attention - it just looks the same with the others. The neighborhood was a middle class one and it was quiet when we arrived.  
  
"Here we are. This is my house, my Playstation unit is in the basement." Howard said.  
  
So we went down the basement except Bing, who said he wanted to see some VCD first. 


	9. Mission 0 (Part 2)

As we walked down the stairs Rage asked about my progress. I told him that I did not go to arcade often and since I did not have Playstation at home, my progress is next to none.  
  
"That's ok." Rage said. "Not everyone has the money to go to arcade often.."  
  
"Who goes first?" Emi asked after Howard had set up his Playstation system.  
  
"You!" I, Howard and Rage said simultaneously.  
  
"Guys! Don't be so shy. This is not Playdium and no one will laugh at you should you fail." Emi yelled.  
  
"Then why don't you go?" A boy, who I could not remember who he was, asked.  
  
"I am a girl." Emi said.  
  
"Then I'll go." Howard said.  
  
After Howard's three songs, it was my turn. Then Emi and Rage took their turns and after an hour or so, we were all exhausted.  
  
"You had improved a lot, Howard." Emi said.  
  
"Surely not." Howard said. "I don't play it too often."  
  
"I don't either." I added. "How about you guys?"  
  
"Sometimes." Rage said. "But there are not many people who play DDR in Playdium."  
  
"Any clubs or organizations?" I asked.  
  
"Too few players to form one."  
  
"There were proposals about DDR organizations in Greater Toronto Area." Bing said as he was walking down the stairs. "One of my friends told me that players in Markham tried to form one. However the plan was eventually 'postponed until further notice', which meant cancelled. I do not know the reason, but my friend once said that it was probably because there were not an agreement of how was it set up."  
  
"That's too bad." Rage said.  
  
"For the addicts like you." Bing said.  
  
"Yup, we are all addicts." Howard said.  
  
A moment of silence followed.  
  
"Not me!" Bing said.  
  
"Not me neither!" I said.  
  
"Well. Anyway, let's pick Butterfly as my next song." 


	10. Recap

A lot had happened on that day and although we were a little bit worried about our safety at school, we still had a great time in Howard house. However, I forgot one thing: Keep Howard's mouth shut. On the next school day Howard started telling everyone how "well" I danced, this brought a lot of embarrassment on me because everyone was asking me how to dance.  
  
Our school did not made to global news after all, as the news about student bringing a gun to school was not reported. The guy who did it, however, was expelled as expected.  
  
After school I dragged Howard into the alley again.  
  
"Why did you telling everyone how I did on DDR?" I demanded.  
  
"Just for fun." Howard said.  
  
"Fun! And this time Rage and Emi will not be here to save you." I shouted.  
  
"Just try to get me." He ran away as he said this.  
  
I lost his track so I went home. I felt very bad since I did not know what will happen to me the day after and badly in need of someone to talk with. I called Emi's house, but surprisingly it was Rage who answered the phone.  
  
"Hi." I said with a bad mood.  
  
"Hey Kenny. What happened? You sound so bad." Rage replied.  
  
"I. I . Howard that moron. Everyone is laughing at me now." I almost started crying.  
  
"I think you need some counseling. I'll give it to Emi. Hey Emi, counsel work."  
  
"What's wrong?" The sweet voice of Emi asked.  
  
"Howard told everyone in my school how I danced yesterday and everyone is laughing at me."  
  
"That indeed hurts your feeling. No one will tell how they played on DDR since most people think it is stupid."  
  
"And see? Everyone is laughing at me."  
  
"It does not matter how others think, but it does matter how you think your dance is."  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"Trust me. And tomorrow, tell everyone how Howard dances and see his reaction. Also, try to make him dance in front of public. The result is either:  
  
"A. He evades the subject and he will eventually apologize.  
  
"B. He humbly accept your 'praise'. In this case, both of you will be laughed at.  
  
"The choice is up to you." Emi said.  
  
The next day I gave Howard a sheet of paper in the classroom before class started and asked him to dance. I wrote a lot of arrows arranged into four columns of up, down, left and right, resembling DDR "step scripts". Howard pretended that he did not understand what the arrows meant. I said that Howard surely knew what that meant because he knew a lot of dances.  
  
"And show me your Dance Dance Re.." Before I finished Howard covered my mouth with his hand and pulled me aside.  
  
"Just guess what are you doing?" Howard demanded.  
  
"See what did you do yesterday? You tried to embarrass me in front of everyone and now I'm doing to the same to you."  
  
"Okok. I apologize for what happened yesterday."  
  
"You finally say sorry to me."  
  
I felt a tap on my shoulder and it was my classmate. "Are you guys showing your dance?" he asked.  
  
"The teacher is coming." I said.  
  
"Boo to you guys." he responded.  
  
The crowd dispersed. At least we were out of trouble for this moment. 


	11. Our Prom

_Note: I need to explain our high system here in Ontario, Canada. The system when I was in high school worked liked this.  
Normally we need 30 credits to graduate from high school, which is in grade 12. However, if you want to enter university, you need to take another year in high school and have 6 OAC credits (I forget its full name). Since not everyone is entering university, not everyone is taking their fifth year in high school. As a result, our prom tradition is that we are having our prom in grade 12 and not in OAC and this is why I am still talking about our high school later in this novel after the prom in this chapter._  
**_By 2002_**_, high schools in Ontario will no longer have OAC level and students will enter university after their grade 12 studies._

_Also, I mentioned summer school in this chapter. You may take an extra course for credit in July, and combining with night school, you can earn enough credits so that you can enter university one year earlier._

Hey Kenny, are you going to the prom? Howard asked this sometime in early June.  
I'm not very interested in those stuff. Probably not going.  
Come on boy. You can dance to the beat and meet some cute girls.  
What kind of person do you think I am?  
Oh well. Sorry for insulting you. But do you think you are going?  
No thanks."

Soon everyone was asking if someone was going to the prom and I was no exception to this. I was getting very disturbed to those kind of questions. After about a week I bumped into Howard in the hallway.  
"Hey Kenny, are you sure you are not going to the prom?"  
"Nope."  
"You can request song for the prom. I wonder if someone will request Butterfly." Said Howard.  
I knew that he is using DDR to lure me to the prom.  
"Oh. I need to hurry to class, see you later." I told Howard ignoring what he said.

During lunch time I saw Bing in the school library and he asked me the same question: Are you going to prom? This time, I was not as sure as I used to be.  
"Seemed like everyone is going." I told myself.

After I got home after school, Rage called my home.  
"Hey Kenny."  
"What?"  
"Don't worry. This is not DDR-related. I just want to find someone to chat."  
"I have a question to ask you." I asked. "Should I go to the prom?"  
"Sure. Why not?"  
"Someone declared that he is going to request some pop stuff like _Butterfly_, _Kung Ku Fighting_, _Have you Never Been Mellow_ (They are licensed DDR songs),etc."  
"Is that your problem?" said Rage. "Just go to the dancefloor and dance. However, this time **do not** use the DDR-style you have learnt. You may want to pretend you don't know how to dance and that's fine. The key point is do not use DDR moves. The audience is not ready for this."  
"Thanks for your advice." I said. "So are you going to your prom?"  
"Me? I'm grade 11 and how do I go to the prom?"  
"Sorry I forgot."

For some reasons I had managed to purchase the tickets on the final day of sale for forty dollars. The date of the prom is on June 28th, which is a Thursday. The exam was over and before summer school started we had nothing to do. I was sitting at home a couple of days before the prom when Rage called me.  
"Kenny, is the exam over? If so then come out."  
"Playdium right?" I said.  
"No, to a café and just chat." said Rage. "Emi and Howard will be coming. We are going to that bubble tea café in Golden Square and possibly spend some time in Playdium. I want to try out their new flavor."  
"You are so obsessed with Asian culture. Are you an Asian? _Gwai Lo_." I said. Rage is a white.  
"Gwai Lo." Rage laughed. "There is a DDR team called Team Gwai Lo based in Ottawa. Visit them at www.teamgwailo.com."  
"I will."

When I arrived to the café. Rage and Emi were there.  
"Kenny, haven't see you quite a while." Said Emi.  
"It is. So what's going on."  
"Well. Exam is over." Rage said. "Let's forget about school until summer school starts. By the way, Kenny, you told me that you are going back to Hong Kong in August, right?"  
"I am. I wonder what is new in Hong Kong."  
"The first one you will see is when you arrive in Hong Kong, the new Hong Kong International Airport (Chek Lap Kok). You told me that you departed from the old airport called Kai Tak in city center." Emi laughed.   
"And I hope you have enough luck to see a DDR 4th Mix. Hundred plus songs." Rage added.  
"Yes. Hope I can see it. And here comes Howard." I said.  
"Hey guys. It's me Howard."  
"Have a seat." Said Emi. "What would you like?"  
"Melon bubble tea."

After our drinks had arrived, Rage started. "T heard Kenny talking about the prom. So, Howard, are you going?"  
"Yea, and"  
"It is he who drags me to the prom." I interrupted.  
"So what? You bought the ticket by yourself." Howard said.  
"It is you, along with peer pressure, who make me bought the prom tickets."  
"You can choose not to buy it."  
"Do I have a _choice_?"  
"Whatever the case it is, Bing also bought the ticket."  
"Does that matter to me? Bing bought the ticket or what is not my business!"

"Howard and Kenny, did you hear about the story about a new DDR in the US?" Rage said, trying to change the subject.  
"Never heard of that." I said.  
"A sequel to that 1.5 Mix?" Emi said.  
"Sort of." Rage said. "But it consists not only from 2nd Mix but also 3rd Mix, and there is a Playstation following by."  
"So we will see Electronic Boutique selling dance pads soon." Emi added.  
"And we may see everyone talking about DDR." Howard said.  
"One word: unimaginable." I said.  
"True. I thought this game would only stayed in Japan when my sister told me that in late 1998." said Emi.  
"But we still only have one place to play in Mississauga." I said.

The place I was talking was, of course, Playdium. After we killed some time in the café we decided to go to Playdium for some exercise, namely DDR games.  
"The 1.5Mix has been here for a while." Emi said.  
"I doubt Playdium will get an upgrade anytime soon. I know that Playdium has a habit of _not_ using Japanese import." I replied.  
"What I see is that HipHopMania and DDR has exchanged spots and there is a new Guitar Freak." Rage said.  
"Emi. Give me a shot." Rage said.  
Rage and Emi stepped on the stage and started dancing.  
"There they go." Howard said, then looked at the Guitar Freak game.  
"I wonder if anyone will play this." I said.

Soon it was my turn. During a song I lost my balance and fell on the stage with my face landing on the screen. Emi, Rage and Howard were all watching he fell over. This was an embarrassing moment for all. At least my friends were not laughing at me and I did not receive any scratch on my forehead. However, I stopped playing DDR for that day.


	12. Summer Time

Fortunately I did not receive a scar on my forehead like Squall Lionheart because the prom was only several days ahead. Before going to the prom a lot of preparation had to be done.  
  
The day had finally came.  
  
I managed to get to the site at 6 and after a while, Howard and Bing appeared into my sight. We were all wearing suits for the evening.  
"Kenny, you look good when you are wearing suit." Howard said.  
"Same as you."  
"Want to find a girlfriend?"  
"How about you?" I asked.  
"I already got one. And you, get someone like Emi." Howard said.  
I ignored him since I was thinking about something else. At this time Bing opened his mouth for the first time, "Let's get inside."  
  
The prom went without any trouble, and without any DDR songs. Thank God. The night is over and then. Those going to college headed their way on their road of life, not very likely to see each other again. The others taking OACs had their summer vacation officially started.  
  
I still made occasional visit to Playdium and made phone calls to Emi. Soon it was mid-July in the summer. I was taking summer course when I saw Howard again in the school.  
  
"Hey Kenny. Did not see you for some time. How is your DDR stuff?" Howard asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Are you trying to fool me or what? Your brain must be malfunctioning because of that crash on the DDR machine."  
  
"Like you?" I asked.  
  
"Or Rage, and," Howard said. "At least you did not break the screen. Or else you probably would not be here." I laughed out loud. Howard surely knew how to make a joke.  
  
"By the way, you told me that you are going to Hong Kong after summer school, right?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm departing in August 6. Gonna see a DDR friend."  
  
"Net DDR friends. Be careful Kenny. They may rape you." Howard said.  
  
"I'll rape you before they rape me." I said after giving Howard a kick. "Strictly speaking he is not a net friend. He was my old classmate but I met him on internet and knew that he was my old classmate afterward."  
  
"Hum. Is that it?" Howard said.  
  
"So how about you?" I asked.  
  
"Nothing special."  
  
We felt a tap on our shoulder. It was Emi and Rage.  
  
"Oops. I forgot to tell you that we are taking summer school here." Rage said.  
  
"Take a lot of photos, especially with the ones that you are on the DDR stage." Emi added.  
  
"Am I going to make stupid myself?" I asked. Well, I actually took photos of me playing DDR in Hong Kong.  
  
The bell rang.  
  
"Talk to you later." 


	13. Road Ahead

After I went home I asked myself if I really wanted to take pictures of myself playing DDR. If I do, it would probably end up as endless embarrassment among my friends (except Howard, Emi and Rage, probably).  
  
After summer school ended, we had out summer vacation started, and I was packing up for departure to Hong Kong when Howard called.  
  
"Hey, what are you doing?"  
  
"Packing up. I'm leaving at 6 am, following by a 6 hour wait in Chicago before a 15 hour trip to Hong Kong."  
  
"Oh really. Have fun and wish you godspeed. Practice a lot in DDR and I want to see your real dance… by the way, teach me what you have learnt in Hong Kong."  
  
"Who do you think I am? Your dance instructor? I'll beat you up before I teach you." I said.  
  
"Don't worry. I'm just joking. However, you are going to see a lot of Bemani games right? Tell me what you see during your stay." Howard said.  
  
"I will. And you take care."  
  
The phone rang again as soon as I put down the headpiece. It was Emi.  
  
"Hello." I said.  
  
"Ready to go?" Emi asked.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Have fun, and practice a lot. 'I can't wait to see your next dance'(This is from the DDR announcer)." Said Emi.  
  
"Howard just said that to me."  
  
"Really? Oh by the way, are you going to visit some CD store? Find me some DDR soundtrack and tell me the price."  
  
"Sure." I said.  
  
"Thanks and have a good trip."  
  
Then I went to bed early because I have to get up at 3 am.  
  
At 7 am in the next day I found myself at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago waiting for my flight to Hong Kong International Airport. I just arrived from Pearson International Airport in Toronto. And after another 20 hours I was in Hong Kong. 


	14. Elite DDRer (Part 1)

I arrived in Hong Kong at 4pm local time. As soon as I walked out of the terminal building I immediately felt the immerse heat. After all, that is the summer.  
  
After another hour of bus ride I finally went to my aunt house and began four-week stay in Hong Kong.  
  
Next morning I called one of my best friends Louis. He invited me to an arcade called Virtual Zone and gave me the directions. Soon, I saw him waiting outside there.  
  
"You grew up a lot, man." Louis said.  
  
"Yeah…"  
  
"And let's go inside." He said. "Arcade these years has changed a lot. You see the DDR and such and such and such. I never saw a game that changed us so much."  
  
"Right, and there are some vivid DDRer in Toronto. That's what I heard." I said.  
  
"Are you one of them?" Louis asked.  
  
"No." I said.  
  
"And there were lots of tourneys. By the way, remember Eric 'the Dog', our classmate? He actually won one of them."  
  
"Really? That's cool." My reaction already betrayed me because I seemed not surprised. Louis did not notice though.  
  
"I'm just a casual player. I only played a couple of games. Mind you, there are more expert player than you think. You know, my body structure trained in martial arts prevents me from dancing well. I will never become a expert."  
  
"I don't want to comment about that." I said.  
  
"There are more elite players hanging in Tsim Sha Tsui area. You can ask Eric about that, but I don't have his contact since he left our school."  
  
"Don't worry. I have his contact." I said.  
  
"How did you get it?"  
  
"Something weird. Really weird."  
  
The person we were talking about is the Eric that I met from the internet chatroom. After a week I finally managed to contact Eric. He suggested that we would meet in an arcade called Cyber City in Mong Kok in one evening.  
  
I went there on time and Eric was already there (we exchanged our information of appearance) but – there was police barricade outside the arcade.  
  
"Something strange was happening," Eric said. "This place even has never had a fight before."  
  
"So where are we going?" I asked.  
  
"Tsim Sha Tsui, probably. My purpose of going out tonight, after all, is letting you see all the experts in DDR." Eric said.  
  
After we board the bus to Tsim Sha Tsui, we talked about our lives.  
  
"I have heard about you winning a DDR tourney. Is that true?"  
  
"Wow. You even know about that. Where did you hear such gossip from?"  
  
"Someone in our school."  
  
"So my superstition is true after all. I know that such thing will eventually spread into the ear of my old classmates. I do not mean of bragging, but many consider me as elite player. Anyway, I have personally introduced several people into DDR since this game came out. Hell, one of them even became the best player in Hong Kong."  
  
"Like MMX? I heard that this person got into top ten during the internet ranking or something like that."  
  
"Internet ranking? I see. He can get such a high score that he can fit himself into the ranking. He is one the person that I introduced into the DDR scene. Sigh. DDR changed us a lot,. I remembered those old days when DDR came out. The now-gone DDR Club."  
  
"You are one of the members, isn't it?"  
  
"Used to. But it is gone." 


	15. Elite DDRer (Part 2)

We got off the bus and Eric led me into the arcade, there were a lot of people there.  
  
"This is the place where I and my friends play, Silvercord. Take a look. I think this is one of the best places in terms of the cost and overall difficulty setting." Eric said. "By the way, did you ever enter an arcade in Hong Kong?"  
  
"Only once or twice in this summer. Mind you, I turned 16 after I went to Canada." I said.  
  
Note: Except a small number of arcades that are exempted, people under 16 are not allowed to enter an arcade in Hong Kong – although most arcades ignore such law.  
  
"Hey Eric. Good to see you again. And you are bringing a new friend here."  
  
"He lives in Canada and comes here are a visit."  
  
"I thought you are bringing him to Ocean Park (a theme park)."  
  
"No way. He actually grew up here. So what's the point?"  
  
"Anyway, I'm practicing a new routine for a song in Dance Mania X." He went back to his game after this line.  
  
"What do you think about this game?" Eric said.  
  
"Swing your hands between the sensors. Kind of like a raver's game. Maybe ecstasy would work. Haha. And for DDR? Well, I think it is for general audience."  
  
"Agree. And let me show you my moves on the stage. Step Step Revolution!"  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"Something that Konami decided to make a change. This is basically the maniac mode with a new name because people complained that players are not really dancing in maniac mode."  
  
It was Eric's turn. Eric was indeed an elite of DDR. His maniac steps showed that he had spent months and a lot of money practicing it.  
  
"Actually, Eric, I brought my camera here today, and…" Before I can finish Eric said:  
  
"No, please don't take pictures of mine playing DDR. No exceptions. I'd rather take a picture of yourself playing DDR."  
  
"I guess I need some fresh air." I said, and went outside.  
  
After several minutes, Eric came out from the arcade.  
  
"I thought you are out for a smoke." Eric said.  
  
"I don't smoke." I said. "Actually, I feel somewhat ashamed of myself."  
  
"Why? Because of you still playing basic level?"  
  
"You guessed it. I can't feel the atmosphere here."  
  
"Well." Eric said. "There was a time when everyone was playing basic level. Don't feel too bad of yourself. Anyway, how is the scene in North America?"  
  
"1.5 Mix, that is. However, there are some rumors about a new arcade mix and a PS version. But I don't really care since I don't have a PS and DDR is not really popular there, probably. People are reluctant to accept such thing."  
  
"Even with hardcore gamers?"  
  
"I don't know then – for that I am not one of them. I think DDR has the potential though. What matters is time and luck. For me, I think the gaming industry need an alternative to those fighting games."  
  
"For Asians, this trend has reached its peak and I sense its downfall very soon. Well. Let's get back inside." Eric said.  
  
Some people were gone because it was getting late.  
  
"Before we go away." Eric said. "Are you going to take some pictures of ourselves?"  
  
"Sure." I said and picked up my camera. Eric grabbed my camera.  
  
"Sorry Kenny. I mean pictures of you. And now, get up there, the DDR 4th Mix stage. Everyone, let's do it."  
  
Eric's friends immediately surrounded me and I had no choice but make an embarrassment of myself. I put my credit and when I was selecting the song everyone was getting close to me and because of the chaos I accidentally picked maniac mode. "Well, you won't make it. I guess someone has to play this one for him." someone said.  
  
After that 'someone' had finished the song, I got to actually dance. After Eric take several photo of mine that was called a day. 


	16. Beachside

The next day I went to a shop to get my pictures developed. On my way home I saw Louis waiting on a bus stop. He seemed to have something in his mind. After a separation of several years I could not figure out what he was thinking * especially in the hot summer of Hong Kong. At this time, Louis saw me.  
"What's up."  
"Well, I saw Eric on other day."  
"Hum… finally saw his DDR skills, right?"  
"Sort of," I said. "What brings you here?"  
"Visiting a friend, and actually, I am going to call you after I go home. You know, I am going to call up some friends to have a picnic and you are invited. I think the location is Stanley Beach."  
"Very well then."

Another day had passed. I was waiting at a MTR station where I met my friends.  
"Time to go."  
"After you are half hour late."  
"OK. I'm so sorry. Traffic jam."  
"Whatever. Get your ass moving."

As we walked near the beach, we saw someone wakeboarding at the horizon.  
"Look." I said. "He got the money and the skill to do this. It is not cheap to own a ship in Hong Kong and not to mention the maintenance. And, how much practice is needed to get the skill?"  
"Sure." Louis said, as the wakeboarder made a sharp turn in the sea. "Just like DDR. It takes a lot of money to play in the arcades. Yet, it takes a lot of practice to be an expert, like Eric."  
"Who is that?" said one of Louis' friend.  
"My old classmate and an expert DDRer. He was quite active in the DDR community, as far as I know, and Eric had won a tourney too."  
"I know a friend and his girlfriend who go to tourneys…"

This reminded me about Emi and Rage. I had not seen them for a while. At this time, the wakeboarder was gone.

After I got home, I got an e-mail from Emi:

Hey Kenny,

It is Emi here. How is your vacation in Hong Kong? Good? I and Rage have finished the summer school and we are enjoying our vacation. Playdium still has that old 1.5 Mix and Rage is working on Paranoia double trick. (I wonder when will he be able to pass it =)

However, I'm sorry to tell you that this is probably our last summer in Ontario because we are moving to New York next summer. Our parents are moving there to work and so do we. I always want to get to the top of World Trade Center and have a look of New York's skyline, and also Statue of Liberty and other landmarks. In fact, after me and Rage go to New York we will study in a college.

Oh well. That's what I know for now. Can't wait to hear you talking about Hong Kong (with DDR 4th Mix, and your DDR skills. LOL) Hope you can be someone's "samurai". =p

Love,  
Emi.

I paused for a long time before a sighed. I had met people all over the world in internet and in real life. I was wondering how would our friendship change after they move to New York. Maybe they would become another internet pen-friend of me. Maybe what we should do is enjoying our friendship for this year.

__

Emi and Rage never went up the World Trade Center before the building was destroyed by a kamikaze attack, however. In fact, they had to run for their dear life on their second day of college.

And, it is time for me to pack up for my return to Mississauga.


	17. CFMG

After my four-week-stay in Hong Kong, it was close to the opening of a new school year. Just the day before the school year started I phoned to Emi and chatted. The most relevant topic was, of course, my trip to Hong Kong. After a while, Emi asked, "So what did you do last month?"  
"I don't know. Meeting old friends and such. Oh, I went to Macao once but the night was a nightmare."  
"Why?"  
"I was sleeping on third floor and the hotel was hosting a rave party that night. Loud techno music - you have the picture."  
"That's too bad. I just wanted to ask did you have a good trop." Emi said. "By the way, do you like music in general?"  
"Not much." I said. "What's going on?"  
"Just asking. And here's Rage."  
"What's going on, buddy? How is your DDR skill?" Rage asked.  
"Going to trick difficulty." I lied. I was very doubtful of whether I had reached that skill level yet.  
"Good. What did Emi asked you? About Emi and myself… Ouch. Stop hitting me!"  
I heard Emi said in the background. "Who do you think you are?"  
"So did you go to some DDR tourney?" Rage said.  
"To watch? Nope."  
"Oh. I forgot to tell you. Do you know why Emi was asking whether you like music? Because she is thinking about joining her school's radio station and she thinks she may be able to promote DDR."  
"That's good. Hope things go well. And if I have time, I will bring some photos to you, including of myself playing DDR."

As the new school starts, I was busying myself with getting things started. After a week, I heard this from the announcement:

The CFMG is recruiting new DJs for the radio station. Want to show off your skill? Then don't miss the chance. Get an application form outside the science department room and make a compilation tape and the interview is waiting for you. More info is on the application form.

I asked myself whether I should join the crew. I secretly asked some of my friends and surprisingly, they thought I should make a try, at least. The next day I went to school much earlier than usual. After I arrived I went to the science department room and got an application form. As I did not want anyone to see me getting a form, I quickly put the form in my backpack and ran away.

After I went home I phoned Emi and talked to her about the CFMG radio station thing.  
"So Kenny, you are planning to become a DJ?"  
"Just giving it a try. I'm not very confident with myself though." I said.  
"Same as me. I am going to the school radio station interview tomorrow. I will become a school radio station DJ, that is, if I succeed."  
"Good luck then."

I did not know whether Emi succeeded. Then, after a week, it was my turn and the interview was after school. On that day, candidates were waiting outside the "booth" (that is what the DJ crew called their station). After a while, three students came out, introduced themselves as Nazia, Mary Anne and Colin, and said that they were holding the interview. Then, a student was called in.

"I wonder what is happening inside." said a candidate.  
"Who knows?" I said, and put my ears on the door, hoped to hear something from inside.  
"Did you hear something."  
"Nothing." I said, and the door opened. "NEXT! And stop listening!"

Soon it was my turn.  
"Why do you want to be part of the crew?" Mary Anne asked. Colin was in the room and Nazia was in the cafeteria downstairs.  
"To explore the music field. Hope to experience more kinds of music."  
"And what kinds of music you like?" Colin asked.  
"I have no specific preferences."

After several days, I received a note from CFMG.

I succeeded.


	18. DDR Compilation CD

One day after school, I attended the first meeting of CFMG, as I just became a member of the crew. I was told that we need to hand in a compilation CD within two weeks. I knew that I did not have many MP3s in my computer, and among that are mostly DDR tracks. Yet, I decided to go on that anyway since I did not want to use the same songs that everyone knows and I wished to bring some fresh songs into the radio station--I thought the music industry is too commercialized with N' Sync, Backstreet Boys, Enimem and Britney Spears. Also, I did not want to end up with a CD with the same song as others.

After one week, I turned in a CD with the following:

__

Title - Artist - Description (note 1)_ - length_

1. Young Forever - Rebecca - DDR version (4th Mix), licensed - 1:31

2. Gimme Gimme Gimme - E-Rotic - DDR version (3rd Mix Plus), licensed - 1:34

3. Pink Dinosaur - Papaya - Full version (DDR 4th Mix), licensed - 3:07

4. M.A.G.I.K.A. featuring STIXMAN - Flashdance - DDR version (3rd Mix), original - 1:23

5. In the Navy '99 (XXL Disaster Mix) - Captain Jack - DDR version (3rd Mix), licensed - 1:37

6. Kick the Can - Bus Stop - DDR version (4th Mix), licensed - 1:33

7. Follow the Sun - Triple J - DDR version (3rd Mix), (unknown) - 1:34

8. Broken My Heart - Naoki - (In Dance Mania X, then DDR 5th Mix, original, note 2) - 1:41

9. Dam-Dariram - JOGA - Full version (DDR 3rd Mix), licensed - 3:10

10. Mr Wonderful - Smile.dk - DDR version (3rd Mix), licensed - 1:31

11. Walkie Talkie - King Kong & D. Jungle Girls - DDR version (4th Mix), licensed - 1:34

12. Have You Never Been Mellow - Olivia Newton John - Full version (DDR 1st Mix), licensed - 3:32

13. Butterfly - Smile.dk - DDR version (DDR 1st Mix), licensed - 1:33

14. Can't Stop Falling in Love - Naoki - DDR version (Solo 2000), original - 1:42

15. My Fire - X-Treme - DDR version (DDR 1.5 Mix?), licensed - 1:34

16. The 7 Jump - Ken D - Full version (DDR 4th Mix), licensed - 2:32

17. Hero - Papaya - DDR version (2nd Mix), licensed - 1:19

18. Eat You Up - Angie Gold - DDR version (4th Mix), licensed - 1:26

19. Dynamite Rave (Remix) - Naoki - DDR version remixed (3rd Mix), original - 3:09

20. Captain Jack (Grandale Mix) - Captain Jack - DDR version (3rd Mix), licensed - 1:30

21. Xanadu - Olivia Newton John - DDR version (3rd Mix), licensed - 1:21

22. Kung Fu Fighting - Bus Stop featuring Carl Douglas - DDR version (1.5 Mix), licensed - 1:35

23. 1, 2, 3, 4, 007 - Ni-Ni - Full version (DDR 4th Mix), licensed - 3:34

24. The Race (Formula One Mix) - Captain Jack - DDR version (3rd Mix), licensed - 1:32

25. Boys - Smile.dk - Full version (DDR 2nd Mix), licensed - 3:02

26. If You Were Here - Jennifer - DDR version (2nd Mix), original - 1:45

27. Dub-I-dub - Me & My - DDR version (2nd Mix), licensed - 1:27

28. Silent Hill - Thomas Howard - DDR version (3rd Mix), original - 1:39

29. Shooting Star - BANG! - DDR version (4th Mix), licensed - 1:39

30. Eyes On Me - Faye Wong - (N/A) - 4:48 -- _This is from a request_

Note 1: Description: This place describes which mix is the song from, full version or DDR version and whether the song is Konami original or licensed.

Note 2: Broken My Heart _by Naoki: the song is originally from Dance Mania X and later appeared in DDR 5th Mix, which has not been released at that time._

I did not know how others thought about my DDR CD. Yet one thing I did know was that someone put Butterfly by Smile.dk in his compilation CD, and he used the full version.


	19. Life goes On

I eventually started working at the booth in the CFMG radio station. After I handed in my DDR compilation CD, my colleagues were amazed that I submitted such a CD. However, most of them do not know DDR much anyway.  
  
Later in one routine meeting of CFMG, a proposal about a social event was talked. Someone suggested of going to Playdium for this social. I knew that I had to find an excuse for not going because I really did not want be seen playing DDR in front of the crew.  
  
Sometime in October, I want to the school cafeteria and met some friends and I heard part of the conversation.  
  
". . . So this is how you dance in parties." Someone named Ben said, and danced. I noticed that he was dancing as if he was playing DDR, since he was stepping left, right, forward, and backward. I chose to wait and see.  
  
"What is this song?" someone asked.  
  
"Butterfly." He said. "Let's see how does this show goes." I told myself.  
  
"Really. I thought I heard this title somewhere. Can't remember where." That person said.  
  
"Is it?"  
  
"All right. Time to finish this show." I said to myself and went forward. "How about Paranoia?" I interrupted.  
  
People went silent for a second.  
  
"Well. well... This guy knows DDR," Ben said. "Good for you, but I can easily beat you in Butterfly. I can full combo it."  
  
"How about Paranoia?" I said.  
  
"No problem."  
  
"What else?"  
  
"Whatever song it goes?"  
  
"Like this?" I said, then pull out my pictures playing DDR in Hong Kong the summer before.  
  
People can't stop laughing at us.  
  
Also, here is what happened during the term of my OAC high school:  
  
1. DDR USA came out in October, but was nowhere to be seen in Toronto.  
  
2. Emi and Rage were busy then. We did not contact each other for a while.  
  
3. ParaParaParadise came out in Asia that October and that was a hit. For some reason, Para Para was nicknamed Falun Dafa. (No politics here.) 


	20. Pacific Mall

Soon it was almost Christmas, and that meant the anniversary of my first try of DDR was approaching. On Christmas Eve my parents asked whether I wanted to go with them for a trip to Pacific Mall in Markham. Pacific Mall was the largest Chinese Mall in Toronto. The most noticeable feature was that the stores there sold many special items, like Chinese and Japanese CDs, _magna_s, VCDs, and cell phone customizations, that cannot be found elsewhere in Toronto. I also knew that there was a small arcade there. I was not very interested in those stuff, but I went with my parents anyway, since I have nothing to do otherwise and I had not been there in years.  
After we arrived, as the usual practice, I made a time to meet up and then I and my parents headed off separately. What I have was the time to wander around, so I just decided to look around. Surprisingly, there was a DDR USA machine in the small arcade in Pacific Mall. However, I chose not to play it because I did not have the mood. A while later I went upstairs to see what had changed. The last time I went there most stores upstairs was vacant. It was almost fully occupied now. I noticed that there was a fairly large room under renovation. I peeked inside through the door and what I saw was a counter and that was it. There was a girl and a guy looking through the door too.  
"…This could not be true. This place can never be an arcade." The girl said. Someone was opening a new arcade there?  
"We will just see. This place will be called Orbit - what a name." The guy said.  
"Only time will show."

At that time the arcade culture was not well developed at that time and it was normal for people to think that place will eventually go out of business. However, when I as writing this after two years, that arcade, Orbit, eventually became one of the most successful arcades in Toronto. This place also became an inseparable part in my DDR adventure too. Also, even though I live in Mississauga, I managed to know the manager of Orbit some time in the future.

"Well. This is no Lovegetty Station. The atmosphere here is not suitable to open an arcade. All arcades need to have some underground element to be successful." The guy said. "And have something that can attract customers. I can still remember last year when Lovegetty Station get DDR and it was so packed."  
"You mean the one in Commerce Gate opposite to Times Square in Richmond Hill?" the girl said. "I went there once. I hope we won't see too much triads there."  
"That is the case." The guy said as the pair walked away from the door.

That evening Emi and Rage called me and wished me a Merry Christmas.  
"Hey, Rage. Merry Christmas buddy. Where are you partying." I said.  
"My home," Rage said. "with my family and Emi is here too."  
"Ah. Your sweetheart is here."  
"Oh yeah and it is time for this." Rage said.

__

"Lights on the avenue,  
that seems so far away.  
I would like to drink a toast to you  
on such a special day."

"Rage, that does not sound like Thomas Howard." I said.  
"Oh well. Who cares?" Emi said. "By the way, I have some news that you may want to know."  
"What is it?" I said.  
"You know Pacific Mall, don't you? I heard that there is a new arcade opening?"  
"I heard that. And what's going on?"  
"A friend of mine told me that the manager is going to invest heavily on Bemani games." Rage added.  
"This could be a good news for Bemani players in Toronto." I said. "On business perspective, however, I have some reservations."  
"Why?" Both Emi and Rage asked. "Wouldn't you think it is a good news for us?"  
"For Bemani players, it is a good news." I replied. "But as you know, the arcade culture in Toronto is not very well developed. I mean, do we see a lot of hardcore arcades regulars? We don't. And, take Mississauga as an example, how many arcades are there? Less than five, I can bet. And other than Playdium, the rest are all the really small one. Also, unlike other businesses, people would not travel to arcades. This means that arcades must be placed so that it is convenience to people and therefore they have to rely on local population. The population density in Canada is just too small for that. For Pacific Mall, although a lot of people go there, the problem is that most of them are Chinese, and, well, for an arcade, you would not target at a particular ethnical group, would you? Mind you, many non-Chinese feel uncomfortable when they go to Pacific Mall. But of course, everything can change. And I admit that it is a bold move."  
"I agree. I feel uncomfortable there too." Emi said.  
"And for Bemani games, there are online communities like DDR Freak(Note 1) or DDRJamz (Note 2) and a number of regional boards. The one for Toronto does not really exist. So the customer base has to be built form scratch." I said,  
"Would you think it is possible for the place to build up by itself?"  
"It is possible, but it takes time, and DDR is not really popular here."

Note 1: Started out as a regional DDR community in California, DDR Freak (www.ddrfreak.com) became one of the most famous DDR sites in the world. This is partly because it has a database which keeps tracks of DDR machines over the world. The fame of DDR Freak is partly because it is rather active in media appearances and fast in updating news. 

Note 2: Although it is now closed, DDRJamz earned its fame from its strong user bases in its message board. Because of this reason, while the main site was closed down, the message board was taken by Team Seattle and the online community survived.


	21. Reporter part 1

"It was almost a year and a half since we know each other. So Rage, what do you think about the DDR community today?" I asked.  
"Honestly, I don't really know much." Rage said. "From what I know, there are several regional teams across Canada. Although Toronto is the largest city in Canada, it does not have any DDR team. But there is one in Ottawa and even more remote city like St John's, Newfoundland. But, as you may already know, most teams are rather short-lived and now ceased to exist."  
"Ever wanted to make one, Rage?" I said.  
"I don't have the damn skill and time to manage one." Rage said.

It was June 2001. My high school life was soon to be over, and I was accepted into University of Waterloo. Most of my classmates readied themselves to set off to another journey of their life. Rage and Emi told me that they were going to New York for college. I finished my DJ career for the year and it turned out great and I would never forget that experience. I would remember playing DDR songs to the school; I would remember my friends telling me that "I think I heard this song somewhere" when they hear Butterfly and so on.   
On the Bemani scene, Orbit was finally opened in Pacific Mall, with some of the newest, rare and "not-so-well-known" Bemani games like ParaParaParadise, according to my friends.  
I never thought I could actually see the game. ParaPara was popular in Hong Kong, thanks to those who performed in Tsim Sha Tsui, near the culture centre by Victoria Harbour and the massive media coverage received. I once told Eric that I never thought "Konami Bemani dance games [could] have a second wave in Asia after DDR." I wondered how far could ParaPara go in Toronto. "I don't think ParaPara can go very far." Emi said. "But I like the idea - less physical demanding and ParaPara has its own style -- good for girls."  
It was also the time when TeamGwaiLo (TGL, found at teamgwailo.net) reopened to the public. It was no longer a DDR team site; it was now a purely Bemani news site based in Ottawa. It also hosted a message board including a forum for Toronto Bemani players. This is where I met most of the Toronto Bemani players.

One of them is Tim Wong (Wizzard). He is a Canada-born Chinese who is a vivid player with excellent skill. Other people I met on the message board at that time included Karmen Lam (drummer), a rather young Chinese girl, Katy Watts (JetGirl), TGL owner, and Nebu Pookins (NebuPookin), Katy's assistant in Montreal. TGL did not have many users back then. Even though most of us never met each other, we were quite close to each other.

One day in the summer vacation Tim asked me to go out. Until now I did not know the reason why he asked me to meet him to Playdium. Another thing I did not know was that the DDR machine was changed to a 4th Mix.  
"Do you play a lot?" I asked Tim.  
"Sure. All over the place. Like here and Orbit in Pacific Mall, of which the machine is a 4th mix. I know Lovegetty Station has a 5th Mix, but I cannot travel there by bus. And don't forget, orbit has many other Bemani games."  
"Do you have a car?" I asked.  
"No. And I sold mine a while ago." Tim said.  
"Why?"  
"I don't want to tell anyone right now…"

That night I called Emi. I had not called her for a while.  
"Ah. A rare caller. For what reason made thee call me, my friend? Thou must hast a solid issue to discuss." Rage said.  
"Just to talk. Besides, I heard that you are going to move to New York soon. It will not be long before we separate apart and unable to talk." I said.  
"We can always talk over ICQ and over DDR message boards. You know, Team Gwai Lo reopened with a Toronto regional board for Toronto DDRers." Rage said. I don't know if there are many players are in New York."  
"God knows." I said. "Maybe you can find some and there are more hiding in the corner. By the way, how is your school life? And how is Emi?"  
"Both of us are going to New York for college. It is not a bad place, but I don't want to leave this place, honestly. Still, my marks are not high enough for a good university degree here and colleges here are crap."  
"Well. Good luck there." I said.  
"Thanks man." Rage said.


	22. Reporter part 2

That summer, in year 2001, was also the time when DDR started getting media attention. One day Tim asked people on the message board to show up on an August Sunday afternoon for an article for _National Post_. Tim said that one day a reporter contacted him in e-mail and told him that they wanted to do a report on DDR. I knew that, like most article on video games, this article was very likely to have many errors about the video games itself. This was due to the fact that most journalists were not familiar with video games. Despite of this fact, I decided to make a visit anyway. I told Rage about this event that evening.  
¡¨I cannot go that day. We have to pack up for New York, remember?¡¨  
¡¨I thought you may be able to spare an afternoon on this.¡¨ I said.  
¡¨May be. But I really can¡¦t go on that day. Sorry man.¡¨  
¡¨Too bad.¡¨  
¡¨Remember to tell me what is going on for that day, Kenny.¡¨ Rage said.

So I went to Playdium on that day and many people, including Tim, were there. The staffs in Playdium set up a ladder so that the reporter can take photos from an above angle. However, the reporter from _National Post_ was not there yet so the crowd just took their turns playing DDR 4th Mix. The reporter finally arrived.  
¡¨Good afternoon everyone. I am a journalist from National Post here to do an article about DDR.¡¨  
¡¨You are here finally.¡¨ Tim said.  
¡¨Tim. You did a very good job for summoning so many people here.¡¨  
¡¨People always want a gathering, right?¡¨ Tim said.  
After the introduction-shake hand-setting up routine, the event started and here is the highlight and the aftermath:

With the help of Playdium staff, the reporter took some pictures from above.  
He also talked to Tim in the exterior court, near the go-cart track a little bit (since it is too noisy indoor).  
The article actually appeared in _National Post_ early September, of which I appeared in the group picture.

And it is time for me to move on to University of Waterloo.


	23. Waterloo

Several days after the _National Post appearance in Playdium, Emi and Rage went to New York for their studies. I prayed luck for them, but I sensed something would go wrong on them. In the mean time, I prepared myself for university in University of Waterloo. According to the database in DDR Freak, there is a store, inside the Student Life Centre inside the campus, called Campus Cove, with a DDR USA machine. I did not care about the machine itself much, but I knew that since it is inside the campus, I may end up knowing DDRers there, if there is any._

I moved in the dormitory in the beginning of September. I lived in West 5 of Village 1 inside campus where I met my neighbours Morgan, Greg and the Don Samara, who asked us to put up a picture of ourselves on our room doors to let everyone know who we were. For some fun, I decided to put up the DDR article in National Post with a sign stating I was in the picture behind some person. I also put a picture of myself playing DDR. It caught some attention from other people upstairs. Since I lived in the basement level the atmosphere is somewhat relaxed and I can have some fun on that.

When I opened my door to go to bathroom for a shower, I saw two boys from upstairs in front of my door.   
¡¨What are you doing here?¡¨ I asked.  
¡¨Seeing what can basement people can do on these pictures.¡¨  
¡¨Heh. This is it.¡¨  
¡¨As I can see, you are pretty much addicted to DDR.¡¨  
¡¨Say whatever you want.¡¨

Maybe that guy was right I was too addicted to DDR. Soon enough, on the first day of university, I went to Campus Cove between my classes. Student Life Centre was just next to Mathematics and Computer Building, where I had most of my classes, after all, so it was convenience to me. It was still in the morning, so not many people were there and the DDR Stage was empty. I wondered who would open an arcade there, _inside a university_.

Campus Cove was fairly small comparing to other arcades. It was in a semi-circle with DDR, GF and DM on the left, with Daytona, an air-hockey table, a PunchMania and the counter on the back wall. Billiard tables were on the centre and other games was on the far right.

The place for the Cove is not bad, but the place is underdeveloped to do well. Campus Cove was on the lower level of CLS directly facing the interior courtyard and the staircase to the lower level with the Used Bookstore next to it. Also, on main level there is the Breubakers cafeteria, the 24-hour coffee stand Turnkey Desk, Bombshelter Pub and Ground Zero restaurant. Since University of Waterloo is famous in computer and engineering studies, a majority of its students are male and many would want to have a game or two after having lunch, since it is quite close to where most have classes and it is not always convenience to go back to home for lunch.

As I left the Cove, I saw a white student with long hair. He went to the DDR machine and put in credits. As I can see, he is a DDR expert. I was not surprised in that since I knew very well that there were many more DDR experts beyond the DDR online community.

I saw Morgan when I returned to dormitory from classes.  
¡¨Morgan, how is your first day of classes?¡¨ I asked.  
¡¨Good. Well, the first day of classes, after all. Who knows what will happen to the future? By the way, interested in going to the Fed Hall coming Thursday?¡¨  
¡¨That Student Federation run club house? I am not interested in that kind of stuff, really. So no thanks.¡¨  
¡¨I can see. You would rather dance in the Cove instead of Fed Hall.¡¨  
We both laughed.  
¡¨So where are you going?¡¨ I asked.  
¡¨Just out for a smoke. However, I doubt that you are interested though. Playing DDR needs one to be healthy since it is an aerobic exercise.¡¨  
¡¨I don¡¦t smoke ¡V just to tell you, and most of my friends, whether they play DDR or not, don¡¦t smoke neither.¡¨  
¡¨Well, it is sometimes hard for outsiders to understand those DDR players.¡¨  
¡¨I think you better just go out and have your smoke then, Morgan.¡¨ I said.  
¡¨The first day of university is just like the first day of grade nine.¡¨ my friend once told me. What happened to Emi and Rage in their first day of classes? 


	24. Kamikaze

My academic term started on September 10, 2001 and the next day was September 11, 2001, the date when the world changed. I did not have morning classes on that day so I stayed inside my room that morning when someone upstairs yelled at me about some planes rammed into World Trade Centre buildings and the Pentagon. Emi and Rage was in New York. What happened to them?

I had their phone number in New York, but I knew that a phone number would have no use in a war zone since all phone lines would be jammed with people finding their loved ones, calling emergency personnel and the telecommunication capacity was reduced due to damaged infrastructure.  
¡¨This is going to be a long day.¡¨ I told myself.

As I went to the central building of Village 1 to have lunch, I saw the big TV in the common lounge area showing non-stop footage of combat zone New York in CNN live. Someone told me that World War III was not far from us, indeed.

I knew that Emi and Rage lived in outskirts of New York where their college located. It was nowhere near lower Manhattan, but it is human nature to be worried about them. That morning I received an e-mail form Emi. The time stamp of the e-mail was just before the World Trade Centre attacks. They said they were going to visit lower Manhattan soon, including the Central Park and such, including to the top of World Trade Centre. Of course, they could not go there after the attacks.

It did not take long for Emi and Rage to send me an e-mail saying they are okay. They told me that National Guard was patrolling the streets and the college was closed. ¡§I would write a letter to both George Bush Jr and Jean Chrétien saying that we don¡¦t want war.¡¨ their letter concluded ¡V no mention to DDR.

Someone wrote on the walkway between campus building in chalk that, ¡§Write to your MPs, Prime Minister, Premier in fax, e-mails, letters. Yesterday was a tragedy, but I do not want war tomorrow.¡¨ Sadly, war did happen, when the United States found evidences that Osama bin Laden who was under the protection of Afghanistan Taliban regime, was behind the attacks and launched Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan where the terrorist was believed to be hiding.

For Emi and Rage, classes resumed several days after, but they had to stay out of Manhattan since the area is under curfew. Also, they managed to find a DDR machine near where they live so that they can keep playing it.


	25. Love and Peace

Around the same time of 9-11 incident, there are gossips among DDR players in the home front concerning the next DDR mix. Konami had decided to put forth another DDR o the music game community. It was known that the new DDR mix will not follow the nth mix pattern, and will be known as DDR MAX with exclusively new songs and artists with several remixes from older DDR versions.

To be honest, I did not expect much from DDR MAX, since the only place in Toronto (and probably in Ontario) to get this DDR MAX thingy is Lovegetty Station ¡V of which getting there by public transit is next to impossible and people in Team Gwai Lo do not like the place ¡V and Orbit in Pacific Mall. However, people agreed that the probability of getting DDR MAX is much lower since they have failed to persuade the management to upgrade when the 5th mix came out. Pity me for studying in Waterloo and what we got was a pathetic DDR USA!

Apart from DDR music, I had been listening to music from other Bemani games, especially from Beatmania IIDX. Some songs are very good, like DJ TAKA¡¦s Abyss and Absolute. (Both songs appeared in DDR 5th mix) I also started listening to music _outside Bemani. One day, out of curiously, I downloaded the legendary anti-war protest song Imagine by John Lennon while I chatted with Emi over the internet.  
¡¨So Kenny, what music have you been listening recently?¡¨  
¡¨I am still listening to Bemani stuff and some also other songs. I am currently downloading _Imagine_ by John Lennon.¡¨  
¡¨This song seems to be disappeared from air since September 11.¡¨ Emi said.  
¡¨Is it? I read something about censorship on music in post-911 era several days ago. Maybe _Imagine_ is a victim of this.¡¨  
¡¨You know what? People are crying for revenge for World Trade Centre attacks. What will people think when they hear this:  
_Imagine there's no countries,  
It isn¡¦t hard to do,  
Nothing to kill or die for,  
No religion too,  
Imagine all the people  
living life in peace..._¡¨  
¡¨This is nothing new at all. The so called _patriotism_ and what the president said about either you are with us or with the terrorists are going to haunt us for a long time.¡¨ I wrote.  
¡¨Even in Bemani, do we hear the word ¡¥bitch¡¦ a lot? And will we see more E-Rotic songs in later mixes? I highly doubt it because as this game grows popularity someone is going to complain. Also, DDR and drugs does not mix.  
¡¨And this is actually Rage typing this, sitting beside Emi.¡¨  
¡¨Forget about sex, drugs, and whatnot. I hope the music industry today does not just talk about what so-called ¡¥love¡¦. We need more songs promoting peace and just peace.¡¨ I typed. ¡§But we need more than loud protests to do that. Also, I do not think that anything controversial related to such process, like drugs or gay/lesbian, should be involved. Another Woodstock is not quite the answer we need. Well, this is not the 60s after all.¡¨_

¡§Woodstock? I think I heard it somewhere.¡¨

¡¨Sometime in 1969 there was a concert in the United States ¡V Woodstock. (Note: I later found out that the actual date was in August 15-17, 1969, in a town called Bethel in New York, for those interested to know) It was believed that four hundred thousand rock fan attended the concert, although this figure was being doubted by many.  
¡¨You know, a lot happened in the 60s. It was the decade when the younger generation revolted against their parents, or precisely, the traditional values. This rage was fuelled by the Vietnam War, which ended up as complete failure in terms of military operation and public relation. The image of napalm bombs stunned people across the globe and America was blamed for using this. Furthermore, conscription was still in effect in the 60s, and tens of thousands of young men were sent to Vietnam to ¡¥fight the communists¡¦. America lost 68,000 soldiers during the Vietnam War approximately. The teens got the true feeling of defeat.  
On the home front, the space race, especially the Apollo Program, gave the younger generation a vision of courage and challenge. Also, the civil right movement was slowly changing the way people think. You probably know Martin Luther King and his ¡¥I Have a Dream¡¦ speech already and so I am not going into detail it here. The effect of civil right movement was that the younger generation challenged the view on coloured races.  
¡¨The Woodstock concert was held under such social atmosphere. It was a rock concert and well, chaos. Condoms, marijuana, mushrooms, hallucinations (but no ecstasy ¡V it was not invented yet).¡¨ I typed.  
¡¨You know so many things, Kenny.¡¨ Emi typed.  
¡¨People call me a walking encyclopaedia.¡¨  
¡¨It is a rather sad thing that those politicians were not learning from the history. I do not hear the subject of peace often, even in video games. Do you count DDR as an exception?¡¨  
¡¨Even though IGN¡¦s review describe DDR as a perfect solution since it feature no violence, I do not think DDR can believe enough blow to the industry at this moment. Let¡¦s see what DDR MAX will offer us first.¡¨ I typed.


	26. The Chinese moderator

For the latter part of 2001 there were not many changes in Toronto in terms of new machines and other changes. DDR MAX eventually released with 40 songs but players in Toronto did not have a chance to play it yet.

In the same time, more people were using Team Gwai Lo, and the administrator, JetGirl needed some help. She posted a message on the board that she is looking for some people willing to moderate the message boards. Being curious, I talked to her over ICQ in an evening about it.

"So how many have applied?"

"Six." JetGirl typed. "I need one each from Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto to moderate message board for their respective area and I only received one for Toronto. That person seemed okay, but I hope there will be more applicants since that area is the largest. I don't know if anyone else is interested."

"I talked to Karmen about this and she refused. Tim may be interested on it, but I highly doubt it. Other than that, I do not have much to say. You know, one should know a person very well before he says anything about this."

"How about you?"

"I must admit that it looks odd to have a Chinese to moderate a _Gwai__ Lo board, even though there are many Chinese users, including myself. It is somewhat ironic to have a Chinese staff."_

"Based on your posts on the board, you are qualified to be one. You responded to many incidents very well. Give it a thought, SYSS Mouse (She did not know my real name yet). I will make the decision in a few days."

I looked outside. I knew that being a moderator did not mean one is superior but rather a kind of responsibility to all people he knew. It could be a lot of pain to moderate a board. Weather report said it would snow sometime that week. Maybe this meant something.

"I am serious, Mouse. I will be very appreciated if you consider this position."

* * *

The weather is getting cold and it started snowing. Several days later I walked back to my dormitory with several inches of fresh snow the night before. I received a message from Katy that she wished me to take the position. After giving it a thought, I accepted. Other moderators were Nebu from Montreal and someone from Ottawa with a nickname "Wheel Chair Ninja".

I was aware that being a moderator could mean the doom of a person¡¦s reputation as I had seen examples before. I did not know whether being a moderator was good for me. Only time would tell.


	27. Starburst

Just like every message baord, there were people who who often posts, people who someitmes posts, people who rarely posts, and some person who did not even bother to register an account - they just read the messages and moved on.  
  
Those who never posted did not imply they were not important, though. You never know if there is a Big Brother watching the gossips flying around.  
  
One day I talked to Karmen when she asked whether I knew Steven Tan.  
  
"Who is he?" I typed.  
  
"He is the general manager of Orbit, and the Campus Coves around here, or rather, the general manager of Starburst Coin Op." Karm typed. "I only meet him several times in Orbit. I think it is better for you to meet him sometime due to your current moderator position in TGL. But the choice is up to you, as you are far into Waterloo."  
  
"Will think about that. But why did you ask that question? What make you think I would know him in some way?"  
  
"Maybe in Orbit in the past, I don't know. Thought you may have meet him before."  
  
"The problem is that I do not go to Orbit often."   
  
"I see. Never mind with what I said then." Karm typed. "By the way, Steven has an acount in TGL and that he posts sometimes. He goes under the name 'orbit'."  
  
I remembered I saw that name on TGL in the past, but I could not recall the details.

* * *

About half a month later, rumours had leaked out that Orbit is geting its own website hosted under I think that Steven Tan was up to something. Later, the site was finally launched after another two week. 


	28. DDR MAX

It was December now. In Japan DDR MAX (6th Mix) had came out. Those characters on screen was no more; added to the screen were freeze arrows and background videos, along with a fresh new song list which had little resemblance from previous mixes. The name of the difficulty also changed from basic, anotheradvanced and maniac to light, standard and heavy respectively. It looked like Starburst decided to picked up the beat in Bemani games in order to compete with other arcades. Someone posted in TGL that Orbit put a DDR MAX there - a move that surprised many since it was unannounced and unlike previous purchases, Starburst got the game relatively quick. It appeared that Starburst was serious in seizing the market this time and it was rumoured that Starburst had acquired more than one unit of DDR Max.  
The reaction towards DDR MAX was relatively positive. However, some people complained about the short song-list (which had about 40). At the same time, there were more people who signed up at TGL. One day I talked to Karm about this and she seemed to have noticed about that too.  
"There are quite a bit of people playing DDR MAX, so I think Steven is satisfied. By the way, have you have a chance to talk to Steven yet?"  
"No. I don't post in eStarburst forum much. He probably did not notice me."  
"Ever think you would ever meet him in person?"  
"I'd rather not meet him. I don't want to get myself involved in some form of business relationship."  
"I think it could do good on both TGL people and them though. I think Steven will want to meet you."  
I was thinking the same too. Steven _would_ want to meet me as the TGL moderator. The problem is we did not know each other.

* * *

One day during Christmas break I went to Pacific Mall and saw the DDR MAX in Orbit. I gave it a shot but I did poorly that day that I almost failed in first song. That was probably I am not accustomed to the new freeze arrow. Several other music games got an upgrade too. Then I saw Tim.  
"What's up?"Tim asked. "Checking out with that DDR MAX?"  
"Yeah. I never had a chance to see DDR MAX because of exams."  
"That's too bad. Have you ever heard the story about extra stage yet?"  
"What extra stage?" I asked.  
"You can get a bonus stage if the ranking of the third song under heavy mode is AA, as I heard."  
"Sounds good."  
"The only thing is no one in Toronto can verify it. As far as I know no one in Toronto is skillful enough to get this ranking."  
"I know. Perfect attack has always been overlooked here." I said. As there were not many tournaments in Toronto no DDRer would train themselves in Perfect Attack on purpose.  
"Maybe the extra stage thing would bring people into playing Perfect attack. I am planning a tournament this summer in orbit here." Tim said.  
"That's good. Good luck on that. I wonder what is that extra stage is." 


End file.
